


A Clipped Crow’s Tale

by niclxo



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, GETS MORE GRAPHIC OVER TIME, Gen, Halloween, Horror, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, implied romantic interests in relationship tags but barely the focus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:47:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27249031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niclxo/pseuds/niclxo
Summary: To celebrate Halloween together this year, the Karasuno volleyball team goes to a house on a dead end with an outlandish story behind the family who once lived there.Trapped in, they soon realize that perhaps the story isn’t fake. That perhaps something sinister lays in the house out of their line of vision. Something that feeds off of taking the team down, one by one.
Relationships: Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	A Clipped Crow’s Tale

**Author's Note:**

> this is pretty long for a one chapter story and took a LOT to finish buuuut i hope it turned out okay uhh enjoy !!

When Nishinoya and Tanaka came to practice with an idea on how the team should spend their Halloween together, everyone was put at unease. Even Hinata, but only because he had promised to supervise his little sister while she went trick or treating. Sugawara was up for it, but Daichi held everyone back, making sure they all did their research before following through with the second years’ plans.

In no time, Tsukishima slammed down a packet of information he found. “I’m not going, but I don’t want Yamaguchi to be scared when he does. So let’s read this.”

Yamaguchi gaped at him. “You’re not coming, Tsukki?”

“Halloween is on a Saturday. I’m staying in.” Unfazed, he flipped open the packet and began to highlight specific lines. “You’ll probably be fine.”

“What do you mean ‘probably’?” Yamaguchi sputtered, his voice cracking.

“Probably means somewhat likely.”

Daichi cleared his throat. “Tsukishima, what are you highlighting?”

“Well,” the first year said, “it’s not an educational reading, and we don’t know how much of this is made up bullshit. But the important parts to look out for are in yellow. Green is for stuff to bring.”

“You don’t willingly do this much to help us so often. What’s different here?” Sugawara asked, sitting in the free seat next to Tsukishima. The one on the other side was occupied by Yamaguchi leaning in to watch his friend read, but sneaking soft glances up at his face.

There were collective nods across the room. Their only response was Tsukishima pointing at Yamaguchi biting his nails and then at Yachi who was clinging to Kiyoko as if she was already inside the abandoned house instead of their clubroom.

Hinata got off the phone with his mother. “My mom’s staying home on Halloween, so I can come now! Natsu doesn’t need both of us.”

“We’re going to stick together the whole time, right?” Asahi asked, trying and failing to mask his anxiety. Such a big guy could probably fight off whoever he feared as long as he had the willpower. But they all knew he wouldn’t hurt a fly.

Sugawara put a hand on his shoulder. “Of course we-“

“Actually,” Kageyama cut in. He read over Tsukishima’s shoulder. “It says we should split up into groups because it’s a small and cramped house. Says it’ll add to the experience.”

“Wow. I didn’t know the king could read,” Tsukishima said in mock awe.

Asahi was about to protest, but Hinata exclaimed, “Let’s make groups then!”

“Are you sure it’s okay to split up?” Yachi squeaked.

“If it’s not a big house, we can set one room as the meeting spot and it’ll be easy to find,” Kiyoko told her. “We won’t get lost.”

“I-It’s not getting lost! What if they want to split us up so it’s easier to take us down?”

Tanaka puffed out his chest. “I’m not afraid of a haunted house! Nobody can hide well if it’s so tiny and abandoned!”

Kiyoko ran her fingers through the manager-in-training’s blonde hair to calm her down. “I’ll be in her group.”

“I think the groups should be mixed age-wise and strength-wise too,” Yamaguchi offered.

Tsukishima pulled out a notebook, opening it to a blank page. “Plan here. I’m almost done reading this.” He tapped his green highlighter cap against the stack.

After a bit of debate, Sugawara read the page out loud. “In group one, there’s Asahi, Nishinoya, and Tanaka. Group two is Yamaguchi, Yachi, and Daichi. Group three is me, Hinata, Kageyama, and Kiyoko. Even though there’s at least one third year per group, group two feels off. Daichi can’t take care of the two first years who are most prone to having a nervous breakdown.”

“Why not move Shimizu to my group?” Daichi suggested.

“Maybe, but-“

“Hey!” Nishinoya yelled. “Why can’t she be in our group?”

“Your group is balanced enough!” Sugawara scolded him. “Hinata and Kageyama are the ones who get lost the easiest so I put myself with her. Our biggest problem is Daichi’s group.”

Yamaguchi and Yachi shared a beet red, defeated look.

“We don’t mean it like that,” Hinata reassured them. “Be tough there and prove us wrong!”

“No,” Yamaguchi sighed, “I agree. We need another person. I don’t want to put it all on Daichi.”

“Someone who can help me ground you two if anything bad happens,” the captain said with a curt nod. “Who’s someone who stays deadpan in any situation?”

Slowly but surely, all heads turned to the first year who had just finished his reading. He grimaced at the sudden attention. “Huh? What do you want?”

Yamaguchi put on his sweetest smile and flashed it in Tsukishima’s direction. It was sickening, dripping with honey and pure sugar. “Tsukki, would you-“

“No.”

“Eh?” he exclaimed. “B-But! You have to come!”

“Does he really have to? Honestly, I could go a day without him,” Kageyama said.

Hinata stood in front of Tsukishima and slammed his hands on the table. “Yes, he does, Kageyama! Tsukishima, don’t you care about Yamaguchi?”

The flames in Tsukishima’s eyes signaled a very short countdown before he murdered the boy yelling in his face. “What do you assholes not get? Just respect the fact that I like my alone time.”

“Are you scared? Is the big bad Tsukishima Kei afraid of ghosts he doesn’t even think are real?” Hinata taunted.

With Hinata having provoked him and Yamaguchi’s puppy eyes that he pretended he had self control with but truly didn’t, he muttered, “Fine. But only because Yamaguchi will be scared if he doesn’t cling to me.”

Then, with everyone assigned a finalized group, they had their Halloween plans.

~

The story behind the house was some cliché shit, really. The house had belonged to a happy family until the drunken mother murdered her two children while their father went away on a trip. When he returned home to see his children dead, he set the house on fire, killing himself and the failed mother. The husband and wife were punished even after death by the ghosts of their separate relatives to live in the house without any way out.

Their depression and rage, both resenting each other still, made them both spiral further into madness, and anyone who entered the house had near impossible chance of making it out alive.

In neon yellow highlighter was something not a single member of the team could understand.

_The house can read your mind._

Besides that, rules were vague or non-existent, but the one thing that was stressed the most was quite obvious to everyone already.

_Do not travel in pairs._

The house couldn’t have been set on fire. At least, it truly didn’t look like it when Saturday rolled around.

The dead end was eerily quiet that Halloween. So quiet that it hurt their ears. Out of paranoia, Asahi got each third year a walkie talkie. Based on his reading, Tsukishima was against flashlights since it was said the battery would die instantly if used inside the house, but it was worth a try.

Sugawara shone the flashlight at the front of the house where they all stood, and it worked then. The estate looked so corny 80’s horror movie esque, Tsukishima pretended to vomit in his mouth. The dark brown walls were up but obviously coming down from age. Black metal railings were set along the stone staircase to the front door. Ominous markings were displayed on the windows. From closer inspection by Asahi, they looked like dragged down hand prints.

The closer they got to the house, the colder yet thicker the air got. It practically held them by their necks, giving them one last warning as the doorbell rang on its own. But the doorbell was ripped out, surrounded by tiny bugs eating at whatever was trapped inside. It was a small house indeed—a house so small Asahi and Tsukishima barely fit through the front doorway. Thankfully, the actual interior was quite cozy. Well, not in feel, but in size.

The room they entered first was the living room. Since it was by far the most spacious room in the house, the third years set it as their home base of sorts. Sugawara flicked on a lamp, only to reveal in the darkest corner of the room a giant spiderweb infested with dead bugs. Who knows where the actual spiders were and how huge they had to be to have a such a monster of a web.

Tsukishima’s head twitched at the sight but his lips were pressed together, acting bored, as usual. Meanwhile, Yachi unconsciously hid behind Daichi. When Hinata, Nishinoya, and Tanaka moved closer to the web, Asahi and Sugawara yanked them back by the backs of their shirts.

“Hey, if the scariest thing here is a spider, maybe it’s not so bad!” Yamaguchi sighed out, relieved a little.

He was wrong.

Without warning, the lights flickered before going out completely. It was still evening, so they weren’t in complete darkness due to having a sliver of light from the windows. Still, that left the possibility of something hiding in the dark. Something worse than a spider.

Kiyoko pressed the button on her flashlight to no avail, growing in frustration each time. “I changed the batteries this morning. Tsukishima was right.” And when the others tried their own flashlights, they came to the same conclusion.

Yamaguchi’s hair stood on end. His former relief vanished in a snap. The anxiety pumping through his veins way too early exploded into broken laughter. “I take back my previous statement. I’m, uh, fucked. Yep! I’m fucked!”

“Well,” Tanaka said, “we’ve got the perfect atmosphere now.”

“The whole point of haunted houses is to be in the dark!” Nishinoya reassured the first year. “It’s all part of the experience, my sweet, sweet Tadashi.”

If Tsukishima wasn’t pissed enough, that last part really set him off for a reason he failed to comprehend. Next to him, Hinata cheered on their second years. Kageyama shushed him, saying something like, “You’re going to anger the ghosts of you keep talking that loudly, dumbass!”

As if on cue, the lights turned on again. Daichi put his elbow on Sugawara’s shoulder like an armrest. “It’s about time to separate and explore, right? Let’s meet again in under fifteen minutes right here.”

“Hey! You can’t use me like an armrest when I’m only an inch shorter than you!” Sugawara barked and gathered a fist to punch Daichi right in the ribs, but Kiyoko put a hand on his shoulder to gently retreat him from causing chaos again.

Her mesmerizing gaze set nearly everyone at ease. The only ones it didn’t reach were Tsukishima and Kageyama who were still stiff as bricks. “What Daichi said. Let’s split into our groups.”

Asahi, Tanaka, and Nishinoya went down the left hallway. The walls were lined with cheap picture frames without any pictures behind the glass, some showing fingerprints disturbing the thick coats of dust. Though the house was old, there were light switches. Tanaka flipped one and waited for the lamp on the ceiling to flicker or go out, but it stayed put.

Nishinoya put his hand on a door. “What’s this room?” It had a sign that was completely scratched out. Not a single one of the three could read what was once there. When Nishinoya turned the knob, they found it was locked.

“Let’s just keep on his singular path for now,” Asahi said.

“No way! What if there’s a hidden key somewhere? Don’t you wanna know what’s behind there if it had to be locked?”

Tanaka nodded along. “Who would lock a door from the inside? Where would they leave from? Maybe there’s someone in there. Asahi, don’t you want to find out too?”

“If there’s someone in there, that’s horrible and we have to leave!” Asahi whisper-shouted.

“I don’t know if there is, but mystery is the whole point! Let’s find that key, Yuu!”

A few minutes later, when they did find the key under a picture frame, it was almost too easy. Nishinoya held it up, beaming. Asahi was reluctant to open the door but Tanaka promised he would be in fighting stance while Nishinoya inserted the key.

They didn’t reach the door before the lights went out. Yachi screamed from the other side of the house. It was so shrill and deafeningly loud it could kill. The first group knew just then that finding the key led to a power outage for the entire house.

Asahi’s rule was based on the packet of information they studied. It was that if they were in pitch black, the group needed to hold hands tightly as soon as possible and not let go until they could see again.

If not, whoever wasn’t connected by hand was easy prey. And with their group of three, one missing would leave them to travel in pairs.

Nishinoya’s hands were quite small, around the same size as Hinata’s. So when Tanaka and Asahi reached around to the boy who was standing right next to them a second ago, Tanaka asked, “...Do you have him?” He cleared his throat as soon as his voice began to quake.

Asahi’s next words sent them into a panic.

“You don’t?”

At that, a muffled cry sounded from somewhere. It felt so far away, yet so near as if it was right behind their necks. And, being the two teammates closest to Nishinoya, they knew who the cry was from.

“Noya!” the third year called out with a desperate crack in his voice. “Tell us where you are!”

Tanaka touched along the wall with his free hand until he found the light switch again, but it didn’t work.

They strained their ears to listen, expecting something along the lines of “Come find me!”

What they got was much more sinister.

“LEAVE THE HOUSE RIGHT NOW!”

That was before their libero returned back to incoherent screams that faded out in seconds. Still with no clear direction to were he was captured.

Both Nishinoya and that damn key were gone.

Only then did a warm, dim light fill the house. It was a deep orange and didn’t do much but it was better than nothing. Asahi used his walkie talkie to cut their exploration time short. “Daichi, Suga, Nishinoya is missing. Bring everyone down now!”

As soon as the three groups were in the living room, they performed a headcount. Fortunately, yet unfortunately, Nishinoya was the only one missing.

“Alright. What happened?” Kageyama asked, already anxious to initiate the search.

Tsukishima was unexpectedly the first to speak up after Asahi and Tanaka explained, including the tiniest of details. “Nishinoya said to leave the house for a reason. Even if we want to look, he said himself to get out. We can be foolish and die together in this house or we can-“

“We’re not going to die here!” Hinata interrupted him.

“If everything I read is true, I’m just saying there’s a huge chance we won’t see him again.”

“T-Tsukki,” Yamaguchi whimpered. “I think you’re right but you can’t say things like that in a situation like this.”

“If no one wants to be honest just because ‘it’s not the right time’, I will.” Tsukishima bent over to sigh into his palms before straightening his posture again. “He literally warned us. The best outcome is that this is all an elaborate prank. The worst is we all fucking die.”

“As much as I’d hate to leave missing one of us,” Daichi breathed out, “Tsukishima is right. If it’s a prank, Noya will get out on his own, right?”

A final decision was laid upon them but the clock was ticking.

“Let’s vote?” Hinata offered weakly.

Kiyoko closed her eyes and let out a long exhale. “Hinata.”

“Absolutely not,” Tsukishima snapped. “Were you listening to me at all?”

That was when finally, Tanaka spoke, his phrases formed into bullets. “Don’t be selfish, Tsukishima! If you want so badly to save yourself, you can, but that’s my best friend!”

“Selfish?! I’m selfish for listening to him and trying to get as many of us out here alive as I can? Just shut up.”

The first year tuned out Tanaka’s protests until they were nothing but a dusty broken record. He pushed aside the guilt shooting through his chest from the dry sobs behind him as he put a hand on the front door.

And didn’t open it.

But it wasn’t like he didn’t try to.

He turned again. Then flipped the lock on and back off. Then turned once more. He turned and pulled and turned and pushed until his wrist ached.

The atmosphere dropped down further if that was even possible. Everyone forced themselves out of their frozen states to try their own hand at the door to no avail. Yachi attached herself to Yamaguchi who did the same to Tsukishima.

“Great! So we’re trapped inside. That means we have no excuse to abandon him,” Tanaka stated.

He pivoted and headed off with nothing on his mind except to _find him, please God, find him._

Sugawara grabbed Daichi to accompany him and rushed forward. “Tanaka, if you’re going to do this, you can’t run off alone or else-“

And what a convenient time that was for the living room lamps to flicker and die, leaving them to frantically find each other in the dark, shouting their jersey numbers for a head count to who was still there. Yachi and Kiyoko simply called out, “Here!” The difference in pitch of their voices was enough to tell who was there.

_One, two, three..._

_Six._

“TANAKA!” Kageyama ripped his vocal chords repeating the upperclassman’s name over and over again until he had a coughing fit. The others joined in.

When they left a solid minute of silence to hear anything and Tanaka didn’t answer, it was obvious that everyone was holding their breaths. They gasped for air as soon as the orange light came back on it hit them that they needed an escape plan. From the windows without handles to the door that wouldn’t break no matter how hard the third years attempted to kick it down, it was deemed a task more difficult than they expected.

Hinata believed in the reading like never before. The wooden walls that somehow turned to iron when the group entered the house, unbreakable windows, lighting changes; everything a kid could see in their nightmare.

“There was a garage,” the first year setter forced out. He could grieve later. “If we go into the basement, there should be an entrance to the garage and we can pry it open.”

Yachi’s eyes widened into saucers. “No offense but that’s a terrible idea.”

“I actually think it’s a good idea, Kageyama,” Hinata said. “Think about it! In scary movies, they survive by facing their fears. We’re scared of going into the basement because it’s common that that’s the dangerous part of haunted houses. What if we just face it and it’s the opposite of what we think? Maybe that’s the point!”

“That’s...” Yamaguchi said slowly. He considered it. He really did. “That’s so stupid!”

Tsukishima put a hand on his shoulder. “What he said.”

The third years shared a somber look before Sugawara put his hand up. “I’m volunteering to bring Hinata and Kageyama to the basement to see if the garage door is accessible. If anything bad happens, you’ll know. But we’re desperate here.”

“Hold on,” the manager spoke softly, “it makes sense for Hinata and Kageyama to go because they’re likely to outrun danger, so we need three great runners.”

“Eh? I’m a good runner.”

“I know that, but it should be me. I’ll supervise. Everyone else needs to stay put.”

Sugawara and Kiyoko argued all the way to the door that revealed a grimy staircase downwards.

Asahi whispered to Daichi, “What do you think about this? You’ve been quiet ever since Suga volunteered.”

Daichi managed a sad smile. “I don’t want him _or_ Shimizu in danger. But we can’t have two first years alone no matter how athletic they both are. If Hinata’s right by some miracle, this is our chance. Even though it definitely seems like a stretch.”

“Not that... You know what I mean.”

“You’re talking about just Suga, aren’t you?”

Asahi nodded.

“I want to stick by him. But the group has the be small and safe.” The captain looked down to cover the redness flooding to his cheeks. “I admire and resent him for being so brave. We haven’t offered to do it, but Suga and Shimizu are really stepping in.”

He stole a glance at his vice captain. Sugawara held the group together every day. The team’s rock. He could make anyone laugh, even Tsukishima. It was only once, but it was an accomplishment for anyone but Yamaguchi. Seeing that extraordinary determination on his face every day and every game was something Daichi thanked God for.

He knew Sugawara like no one else. Nobody would be going down a single step until the argument against Kiyoko was won by him.

“You’re the better runner, sure, but I’m physically stronger,” he said, his eyebrows two straight lines in a stern expression. “Don’t think I’m underestimating you. I know how capable you are, but Yachi needs you here.”

Kiyoko turned around, her black hair flipping over her shoulders. Yachi was right behind her, clinging to her jacket. She squeaked and diverted her eyes. Kiyoko softened. She huffed in frustration at Sugawara and took a step back to stand behind Yachi, placing two gentle hands on the side of her precious little head.

Sugawara put his hands on his hips and beamed. He gathered Hinata and Kageyama closer, then looked back up at the others. “Wish us luck!” He waved at everyone individually.

Daichi was at the very end. He didn’t even look at Sugawara.

“What?” the setter said.

“Suga...”

Daichi hadn’t expected him to dart forward and tackle hug him, but he sure needed it. The side of his face pressed against fluffy gray hair. Sugawara always smelled like candy. Chocolate kisses, rainbow licorice, and everything in between. Daichi let out a shaky breath against the porcelain skin.

“If anything happens to me,” Sugawara announced, “mourn me after you get everyone else out of here. There’s no time to waste time being sad over me if you still have a chance of rescuing whoever’s left. Got it?”

“Yes, captain,” Daichi mocked. But he couldn’t exactly make a lighthearted joke in that situation. “Good luck.”

Neither wanted to, but they pulled away from their embrace.

Sugawara nodded firmly and had Hinata and Kageyama hold onto his jacket as he led them down the creaky staircase.

Kiyoko was still stroking Yachi’s hair. Tears pricked at her eyes at the thought of the endless possibilities of what could happen to Sugawara after stupidly forcing himself into the most vulnerable position. She didn’t let the tears fall. Not while she was supposed to be strong for the others, especially Yachi. Not ever.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” she said.

“Yeah.” Daichi rubbed his goosebumps. “Me too.”

The remaining first years watched the scene in the basement to the best of their ability but there wasn’t much by the staircase. The rest of the basement was in a separate room that they couldn’t see from just the doorway. Meanwhile, Asahi and Kiyoko tried the windows again despite them being, of course, unbreakable. Tsukishima made sure to remind them of that well. Specifically with the words, “What the hell are you guys doing?”

With Kiyoko on a mission, that left Yachi and Yamaguchi hand in hand. That, Tsukishima scoffed at. He got a look across the room from Daichi when he did so, but seeing Yamaguchi holding the blonde girl’s hand triggered a reaction inside him that he didn’t even know he could have. He brushed it off quick due to obvious and more important circumstances. Yachi trembled in anticipation when they heard nothing from the basement so far despite less than thirty seconds having been passed. The boys had only just reached the bottom of the stairs out of steady caution.

Kageyama used the hand not on Sugawara’s beige sweater to search for any clues to where to get out. “Sugawara, there are these notes on the table. It’s even darker down here than up there so I can’t read them.”

Hinata squinted at the slips of paper for a solid minute or so. He shook his head. “Me neither.”

Sugawara took a stab at it, but could only manage a couple characters. He folded the notes and clipped them onto a mini compartment on the back of his walkie talkie by the battery pack.

“What are you doing?”

When the eldest of the three attached the walkie talkie back to his belt, he said, “You’ll understand later. Let’s find that garage.”

As they searched around for a door, Hinata asked, “Why weren’t you afraid? You turned Kiyoko down so easily.”

Sugawara turned his head to the first year duo. “I _am_ afraid,” he laughed with no humor behind it, “but what good does letting that turn me into a coward do?” He managed his signature smile that they could barely see. Still, they could see well enough that Sugawara’s hands had become clammy and fidgety. He pressed them together to calm his nerves as much as possible but really, all he could do was bottle it up until everyone made it out.

Hinata managed an ounce of positivity, by some miracle. “You’re right!”

“Oi. Shut up.” Kageyama stopped in his tracks and strained his ears to listen. “Did either of you hear that?”

“Uh, no?” the redhead said.

Sugawara pursed his lips and shook his head, disappointed in his own oblivion. “What did you hear?”

“A voice that...” But Kageyama trailed off when he spotted a door. He pointed madly so Sugawara opened it.

They were greeted with a strange yet familiar scent and a stone cold floor. Resting against the walls were bikes and supplies like nails and screwdrivers as if it were an average home. To the right of the room they entered was the garage door that they’d been searching for.

A hard yet encouraging smack from the third year’s hand hit Kageyama’s back. “Nice!”

Kageyama shushed him. “I heard it again,” he whispered.

With one hand, Hinata held onto Sugawara as he was told. With the other he grabbed Kageyama to pull him closer to almost huddle.

“Shouyou!”

Hinata’s breath hitched. “Noya?”

“It _is_ you! I wasn’t sure so me and Tanaka stayed quiet, but you came to save us, right?” Nishinoya got up from his hiding place behind a large cardboard box.

Tanaka stood as well. “Thank God! We didn’t know you’d be brave enough to come down here.”

Ecstatic, Hinata began to launch himself towards his upperclassmen, but Kageyama put an iron grip on his forearm. Sugawara nodded to them to silently allow them to let go of his jacket as he reached for the handles of the garage door.

He used all the strength in his body to lift it, but it was just like the front door. He scanned the room for a button but there was no such thing. In the meantime, Hinata spoke to the second years about what they missed. All while Kageyama stood back quite a bit.

Watching for signs.

Waiting for _something._

That odor was even stronger and more foul in the garage than it was at the bottom of the stairs.

Sugawara was, of course, unsuccessful in cracking an opening in the garage door. No door that thin could be so strong, and definitely not so heavy that he couldn’t lift it with the handle to escape.

He moved to tell the younger boys about his frustrations but that turned out to be the least of his problems.

All heads snapped toward the cardboard box when it began to shake and cause a loud rustling noise. It shifted slightly in place on the floor until whatever was inside grew, cracking the cardboard little by little.

Nishinoya and Tanaka were oddly calm. In fact, they moved closer.

Sugawara gulped. “You were right, Kageyama. I didn’t want to believe it either.”

“What?!” Hinata whispered.

“In short, Noya and Ta-“

“You aren’t running yet?” Tanaka asked, smiling wide to reveal fangs smothered with fresh blood.

The life in his eyes were gone. A cold, empty gray replacing the color for both of them.

Nishinoya cut the box open in one smooth lightning flash of a movement with only his fingernail. “Your friends were right.” His voice lowered, becoming distorted with every word.

“They’re dead.”

The box finally exploded into black smoke, choking the other three who were forced to hold their breaths. Behind them stood whoever had possessed the corpses of Nishinoya and Tanaka. Sugawara slammed the door to the garage back open and threw Kageyama and Hinata in front of him before shutting it tight. There was a lock on the door which he used, but by inference from their earlier time spent in the house, it probably wouldn’t do much.

“They weren’t really them,” Hinata said shakily, catching his breath. “Why didn’t you say so? We could’ve gotten out there faster!”

“I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t know for sure. I thought it was my paranoia,” cried the leader.

With his back foolishly pressed against the door, the substance slipped by through the thin opening at the bottom. It formed into taut black rope-like strings, still radiating the horrid stench of smoke and expired corpses.

Their legs nearly gave out as the sprinted harder than they ever had until they reached the small room connected to the stairs. The entire time, Sugawara made an effort to stay at the back. Due to their heavy pants, the others at the doorway waiting for them heard the distressed noises and peered inside.

“I know what you guys are thinking,” Sugawara called out to them, “but if you dare come down here, I will never forgive you! So don’t even take one step down, got it?”

The smoke spread at a shocking speed. And with the third year purposefully taking the bullet for them, it was time. He forced the walkie talkie into Hinata’s hands.

_“Go.”_

It was an order from their vice captain. The one who knew full well what was about to happen to him. The smoke formed ropes which caught up to them in no time and circled his ankles, capturing them. He gripped the rail until his hands were red and gritted his teeth.

Kageyama and Hinata started to rush down the stairs to release him, but Sugawara glared at them. Burning hatred mixed with permanent, hopeless love. A rope trapped his arms behind his back.

“What did I just say? GO.”

Daichi gripped the doorway and stared right into Sugawara’s eyes, pleading for his safety. His best friend looked so guilty under the mask of courage. There was nothing he or Daichi could do. Daichi could only bite his tongue while watching his other half die in the most selfless way. He wanted to look away—pretend it was all in his head. But if he looked away, Sugawara would never forgive him for not giving him any sort of goodbye.

If he was going to sacrifice himself, he wasn’t going to be ignored in the process.

With Kageyama at the front, he still had time to get to the home floor.

For Hinata, on the other hand, it was too late. His small body was dragged down the stairs, bruising his knees. Black smoke entered his mouth, filling his lungs, restricting his breathing so badly he fell to his knees. Right next to him, Sugawara finally let out the waterfall he held in so long. He wasn’t the one with smoke in his lungs, but he fought to breathe, overworking his muscles against the restraints.

Kageyama reached his long arm out as if it were of any use. “H-Hinata!”

Hinata was the one with the free hands. At least, for the time being. He couldn’t make a sound other than a pathetic whimper, but he knew Kageyama was looking.

Up and up the walkie talkie went, and down into Kageyama’s flawless catch.

A final look.

At Hinata, whose heart broke into a million pieces, dying because he trusted who he thought were his best friends.

At Sugawara, who was too selfless for his own good, but still failed to get the two of them out safely.

When Kageyama was out of the basement, Daichi put a hand on the door. His legs threatened to take a step down.

“Don’t be an idiot just because you’ll miss me. Close the door!” Sugawara ordered.

_No._

__

__

_No, no._

Without his hands to grip the railing, he was flung back, body slamming the wall with a brutal smash. The smoke crept further and further up.

“SUGA!” Daichi finally managed.

“CLOSE THE FUCKING DOOR!”

And it was slammed shut.

His hand came off the handle and he stared at it like he was a fucking monster. From the basement, they could all hear Hinata’s pained wails and Sugawara’s sobs, trying to reassure Hinata at the same time. In that situation though, reassurance was exclusively empty words.

Kageyama stood like a statue between the first and third years until no more sound came from the basement. When it hit him it was over and the last thing given to him was the walkie talkie they both wanted him to take, he buried his face in his hands and cried in silence. The walkie talkie sat in his hoodie pocket. His palms were buckets and his thin fingers didn’t catch the remainder of his tears. They slipped past and onto the floor that his feet couldn’t even feel.

He was numb, and he cried and cried until his eyes were numb too.

The third years huddled. Kiyoko’s glasses dirtied with salty tears from the fact that if Sugawara wasn’t so stubborn, she could have taken it instead. Daichi and Asahi were speechless. Their minds were busied with thoughts but nothing carried to their mouths. It wasn’t that way for Nishinoya and Tanaka since they believed there was still a possibility that they were alive. That there was an escape.

But with two more down for sure and a garage door that wouldn’t even open, there was no chance of hope.

Yamaguchi and Yachi ran into the third years’ arms for a huge group hug. The emotional outliers remained as Kageyama and Tsukishima. Tsukishima had his back against the wall and head tilted toward the ceiling. His face was scrunched like his life depended on it. Really, he just didn’t want to cry in front of everyone. He was added to a group in the first place because of his ability to be stoic, but it grew to be an impossible task to fulfill. The only reason he was there, and he fucked it up. Tanaka and Nishinoya would pull that kind of a huge prank by straight up disappearing, but they all watched Sugawara and Hinata die right before their eyes and couldn’t do anything about it.

The reading was for nothing. Everything was for nothing if one more person was lost that night.

Only in comparison to everyone else, he seemed the most calm about the situation, but he was beating himself up inside. Beat himself up until his heart went crazy and the urge to go down and let himself die with them grew stronger. One look at Kageyama, who witnessed it all and couldn’t even recount the recent events, made him scold himself.

So far, Kageyama was scarred like no one else.

Headcount.

“One.”

“Three.”

“Nine.”

“Eleven.”

“Twelve.”

“Here.”

“Here.”

They were eleven, then nine, then seven.

Daichi, Asahi, and Kageyama grieved Sugawara and Hinata. Kageyama had no idea what he would do if he played volleyball without Hinata. They fought every day, but silently agreed that they were better together. Only half his heart pumped. The other was stuck in place, yearning for Hinata who he could finally call his best friend.

Losing his second family and dealing with the uncertainty of how the rest of the night would play out, Asahi’s eyes were fixed on the floor that definitely hadn’t been cleaned in some time. His eyes were dry with every tear he count spare already used up.

Daichi just thought, _I wish I got to confess._ He didn’t quite believe it all yet.

Kiyoko and Yachi, in hushed tones and voice cracks, spoke about their next step.

Yamaguchi got Tsukishima off the wall and wrapped his arms around him from behind. His cheek was on his shoulder but if he turned his head a little, he could soothe the tension in Tsukishima’s neck with the warm breaths passing by his delicate lips. Tsukishima reddened but didn’t protest.

“It’s okay, Tsukki,” he said softly. “Well, it’s not. But you don’t have to be scared of dying, if that’s what you’re scared of.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s really stupid.”

Yamaguchi sighed. “I know, I-I know.” He lifted his head an inch to see he had created a wet patch on Tsukishima’s top. “Oh... I cried on you.”

“It’s okay, Yamaguchi.”

“Sorry, Tsu- Wait.” His puffy red eyes lit up.

When Tsukishima caught a glance at the deep regret in Daichi’s quickly aging eyes, growing ten years more sad in one night, he knew he couldn’t fuck it up with Yamaguchi.

Yachi clapped to gain everyone’s attention. “The most we can do right now is keep figuring out a way to get outta here. First years are staying in the living room to rest up together and third years are going upstairs. Has anyone been upstairs yet besides me and my group?”

Kiyoko and Asahi shook their heads. The manager cleaned her glasses before putting them back on.

“When we went up there, nothing out of the ordinary happened except that lights thing. But! There are tons of spiders!”

“And they’re huge,” Yamaguchi said with a shudder.

“Be careful,” Kageyama muttered.

“Yeah,” Tsukishima said in the same tone as Kageyama. Their uncovered similarities made them both highly uncomfortable that night.

They all hesitated to separate. Despite all the encouragement they gave each other, the chance of them all to break free was looking even slimmer. Asahi gave his walkie talkie to Yamaguchi so the first years and third years had the same amount.

“Yachi,” Tsukishima mumbled. Yamaguchi had his arm around him and Tsukishima leaned into the affection. “I trust that you thought this through with Kiyoko well enough...”

Kageyama’s eyes darted in the direction of the blonds. His misery distorted into borderline disgust from shock. They knew Tsukishima wasn’t rude to the girls on the team, but that was where it ended. At not being rude. But right then, as they found a place to sit together in the living room, he showed a sliver of kindness, patience.

Yachi looked up at the tallest of the bunch. “Mhm?”

“But,” Tsukishima huffed, “wasn’t the whole point of the groups to be balanced? Sure, we’re sort of balanced in strength and the logical thinking aspect is there for us all but we mixed different years together for a reason.”

“Did you just compliment Kageyama?” Yamaguchi asked.

A shit-eating smirk crossed the setter’s lips. “Did you just compliment me?”

It was a momentary distraction, and it worked. But the mood fell again. Of course it did. Four of their friends were murdered in the house that they were trapped inside of. Many people would distract themselves from problems that they deemed stressful, but this wasn’t something they could ignore. Not even after they survived it, if they would.

“We thought about it. But we both agreed that the living room is the place where the least dangerous things happened and it’ll be easy to find us after they’re done. So it’ll be better if the younger ones take a break. Especially Kageyama. He was running...” Yachi explained. A small and pale finger twisted her hair. Her biggest nervous habit. Especially with Kiyoko on a different floor.

The house, they knew, was small. Still, the atmosphere shrunk its visitors—no, intruders—under its influence.

Yamaguchi looked around when the circle on the floor fell silent. “Should we do a vent circle? Seems like we need it.”

There was a pause but everyone eventually nodded. Yachi went first. Her chin sat on her knees. Thankfully, she wore leggings that day instead of a pleated skirt. “I just wish I could be more helpful... I have nothing to offer but I really should. Everyone else does! Right now, anything could happen and there’s nothing I can do. Just, nothing.”

She folded her hands in front of her legs and inhaled in a way that definitely took the common “take a deep breath” advice way too far. Her pale skin was bright, seething with a miserable pot of emotions. Optimism was left out of the recipe altogether. She would usually start screaming about her worries, but she was so exhausted from crying, no energy to raise her voice was left.

They gestured to Yamaguchi to speak next. “I have... nothing to say.” His head hung low. “Right now, I just hope Kiyoko, Daichi, and Asahi are okay.” He wouldn’t stop shifting. Even a floor that seemed normal to them wasn’t guaranteed to be safe. Like it would open under them and trap them in the basement.

No wonder he couldn’t stop staring down.

Tsukishima chewed his lip to think for a moment and tapped Yamaguchi’s hand. Yamaguchi finally looked up in the most broken way that any had ever seen him. As if he were picking up a baby, Tsukishima guided him by the waist into his lap. Yamaguchi squeaked but he exhaled, relaxing just a smidge. Both at the affection and the fact that something kept him from sitting on the floor. It didn’t stop his mind running until it burnt out, but it was something. He turned his entire body around to wrap his legs around Tsukishima’s torso and his arms around his neck. He shut his eyes and shifted his focus only to Tsukishima’s scent.

“You talk now, Tsukki.”

It took a minute for Tsukishima to process their positioning even though it was his idea in the first place. Their chests were practically pressed together, hearts racing for a million different reasons. His fingers massaged Yamaguchi’s back as he spoke. “I shouldn’t have come here,” he groaned. “I knew someday I’d lose- uh- I’d lose the people who I... care about? But not like this. If it was, ‘We don’t like you anymore, you’re an asshole, get off the team’, maybe I’d be okay right now. At least better than whatever I’m feeling right now.”

The back of Yamaguchi’s t-shirt was collected into Tsukishima’s fists. “I should really stop caring. Even more than I already don’t care. It’s never done me any good.” His infatuation with the boy in his lap contradicted what he said completely, but he didn’t even think to let go.

At last, it was Kageyama’s turn. The rage in his eyes drilled into the nearest window. “I was the reason Sugawara and Hinata died,” he spat.

The air in the room drained as everyone held their breath.

Yachi’s eyes widened and she moved onto her knees to scoot over closer. “Don’t blame yourself for that! You did nothing wrong!”

“Didn’t I? I brought up the idea to go to the basement and Hinata agreed. Sugawara brought himself along and didn’t let himself be selfish for one second.” His eye twitched and the seething frustration at himself made him raise his voice. “I know he can run faster than that, but he didn’t! For me? He deserves to resent me but he never did.”

When he became the reason Sugawara was benched at every game during his final year on the team, Sugawara had clear hurt in his eyes at the initial news, but whatever made the others happy was what he did.

Always, until the very end.

“And if Hinata didn’t go for him, he would be sitting here right now!” he scowled. “That idiot. He always races me and wants to beat me. He could’ve run faster too. Why didn’t they just run faster?” He soon went into a summary of everything that happened in the basement including finding who they thought were Nishinoya and Tanaka. He would never forget those blank eyes. But his greatest desire was his memory to be wiped. The only two choices that guaranteed his pain to subside was a memory wipe or to die with Sugawara and Hinata. The last sentence of his story ended with a hand slapped over his own mouth, grunting at the pathetic sound of his quivering voice.

Sugawara needed to stay behind. At least one of them had to or else all three would be goners. Everyone knew that, and Kageyama did too, but he didn’t want to believe it.

He took the walkie talkie out of his pocket and unfolded the pieces of paper.

Yamaguchi turned back around in Tsukishima’s arms to ask, “You found something?”

“I found them in the basement but it was too dark to read them,” Kageyama replied.

_She’s here. I can’t continue writing. She’ll kill me like she killed you. She’s so close I can hear her footsteps. I’ll join you soon._

“The second kid who got killed by the mom,” Yachi gasped. The note was passed to everyone to read.

The second was in very different handwriting in a very different pen. One that wrote in such a rush they could barely read it, in a pen that was running out of ink based on how many scratches there were.

_Does it hurt, Tobio?_

Kageyama shivered and immediately crumpled up the note before tossing it. With raised eyebrows at the reaction, Yamaguchi retrieved the paper and flattened it out. His mouth fell open as he read and reread. “Do you know what this means?” He waved it around. “This was the plan! Maybe it started back even when Nishinoya and Tanaka got the idea to bring us here in the first place. They planned who would die and the order. Or maybe they-“

He gulped.

Tsukishima blinked. “Maybe they what?”

“Something is following us. Something we can’t see.”

“Oh yeah? No shit, Yamaguchi. That’s how ghosts work.”

“No! Let me finish, okay? The note was found before they saw that smoke, right? They knew Kageyama was going to make it out alive even though I’m sure if he hesitated for another second he wouldn’t have made it. Somehow, they already predicted it. They’re messing with us. They want to see us afraid.” He slammed the sheet against the floor. “No wonder Kageyama saw the smoke go under the door, and yet it didn’t go through the door to the basement to kill us! Whatever’s in this house is doing it for fun.”

“What can we do about that? Like, at all?”

“Well, I don’t know what we can do, Tsukki. But remember that the house can read our minds. That’s the line we couldn’t figure out when we read it! Sugawara wanted to be the one to do anything to save you and Hinata. Maybe that’s why you got to escape. Maybe Hinata thought something too, right? It might be a stretch, but it’s all I have right now.”

Yachi twirled her hair. “Maybe you’re right. That seems possible.”

Dark bangs hung in front of Kageyama’s eyes when he refused to keep his posture.

They just all wanted to wake up from their collective nightmare.

On the second floor, Daichi, Asahi, and Kiyoko went into every room together. They reached a bedroom that once belonged to a young child. The bedroom next to it was possibly the older brother in his teen years. The one they were in had a large window with soft white curtains. Toy blocks and stuffed animals were scattered. It could have fooled them into believing it was an innocent space until a rancid smell was detected.

“This is where I went with my group and saw those spiders. We left right after because when Tsukishima saw them looked like he was going to have a meltdown,” Daichi said. “Yamaguchi said Tsukishima doesn’t like bugs in general, but these spiders... I understood him. I know he can’t be nonchalant about everything. Look at them.”

Kiyoko took a tiny step forward and crouched halfway to get a closer look at the creatures in the corner. Asahi did the same and gagged. “How are there so many?” he whispered.

“No idea. And I don’t get why they’re all in one place either,” the captain replied.

“They’re big but they’re small enough to kill with a couple stomps,” Kiyoko said, keeping a level head and turning her attention to their objective. She moved the silky curtain aside to try the handles on the window.

As soon as she did, the room filled with hysterical female laughter. It was slurred, maniacal.

“What the fuck?!” Daichi exclaimed.

Asahi grabbed Kiyoko and moved her away from the window. “Get away from there! Do you not see that shit?”

At first, she thought her glasses were just dirty when she watched white fog form on the window. She only took two seconds to wipe them while Daichi and Asahi guarded her, but when she put them back on, it didn’t go away. In fact, it only grew in size.

What was once a blob formed into an image.

First, Asahi understood and he stepped back, taking Daichi and Kiyoko with him. Next, Daichi understood.

“You kids were foolish to come here.”

When a shit-eating grin and wicked eyes stared right into their souls, Kiyoko was hit with the realization at last. She whipped around, her ponytail trailing after her as she rushed to the door.

A millisecond before she met the door, it flung shut at such a volume the three of them jumped out of their skin. No amount of twisting the doorknob or kicking at it gave the group any mercy.

“We heard a door close really loud. What’s happening right now?” Kageyama asked from the living room using the walkie talkie Sugawara and Hinata left him.

The face in the window mocked innocence. “Are you going to answer him?”

“Tsukishima, don’t just take it out of my hands!”

“Daichi, Asahi, Kiyoko,” Tsukishima snapped, clearly ignoring Kageyama’s comment. “Hello?”

When Daichi pressed down his premature guilt of worrying his first years further, he just said it.

“We found the mother.”

Saliva and a thirst for blood dripped from the grotesque smile in the fog. The woman in the window had thin, cracked lips that parted into another bout of laughter as the device in Daichi’s hold snapped in half at her will. She did the same with Kiyoko’s.

“I don’t want to waste my time with older ones,” she said, bored out of her skull. “I’m excited to meet your friends, though.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Daichi asked, beginning to feel weakness in the legs.

Through clenched teeth, Asahi told him, “Don’t provoke her!”

The mother cocked her head, putting on her sickly innocent act again.

“Let’s get this over with.”

On cue, the spiders in the corner spread and climbed the walls and the ceiling on their legs that were miles long reminiscent of a claw machine. They launched themselves like rockets at the third years, trapping them against the door that they couldn’t open. Although they didn’t speak, Daichi, Kiyoko, and Asahi knew it was a taunt.

Kiyoko shuddered at them crawling all over her but she got herself to pick them off. When they fell to the floor, she stomped with both shoes, rapid fire killing as many as she could. Asahi and Daichi followed her example.

But the blood was neon fucking green.

There were too many to take them all off in time.

The remaining spiders pierced their skin all over. Venom shot into their veins, polluting their blood flow. They all cried out before they could no longer stand and their consciousness drained rapidly.

Asahi’s last thought was of how badly he failed the first years downstairs.

Daichi’s last thought was rejoining his other friends as the venom took over.

Kiyoko’s last thought was, _You’ll be fine without me, Hitoka._

The thumps from the second floor shook the ceiling of the living room. The first years didn’t need rocket science to figure out what happened.

Tsukishima hunched over and huffed into the sleeves of his top. “There’s no point. We can’t do shit.”

Kageyama was usually the first to disagree with whatever Tsukishima said, but he just stared into nothingness with half lidded eyes. He was too tired to argue, too lost to disagree.

“Tsukki?”

Yamaguchi played with Tsukishima’s hair to put him at ease, but it didn’t mean much when he was swallowing down his own panic attack.

With everyone around her having their sanity chipped away, Yachi pushed herself up off the ground. She was never the one to stand up tall and act tough. That was Nishinoya and Tanaka. She rarely initiated things. That was Asahi and Daichi. Never did she feel like the light of hope who they could look to for a smile. That was Sugawara and Hinata.

Kiyoko could end a nuclear war with a hair flip. Yachi could never do that, but one of them had to keep their hope alive, and it sure wasn’t going to the other boys. Seeing them in pain stabbed at her heart, and she ended up with double the feeling. She was desperate to be every part of the team they had lost. Her extreme empathy which Yamaguchi shared put them in the same boat. But Yamaguchi was between Tsukishima and Kageyama to comfort them both. He struggled to figure out what made Kageyama feel better, but he made strong attempts.

Yamaguchi was the second to stand up. He said, “Let’s all get up and move, okay?”

“We’re going to make it. All of us,” Yachi said.

It was a fat lie on her part. Who lived and who died was uncertain. At that point, she just wanted to survive and bring as many of her friends out with her as possible. Hoping was all she could do.

“Fat chance,” Tsukishima replied. He stretched upwards when he stood.

Kageyama looked up across the three of them. Yamaguchi and Yachi forced small smiles but Tsukishima didn’t care to hide anything. He just offered a hand.

The boy sitting on the floor switched his gaze from the offer and the one offering. He grunted at the thought of making physical contact with Tsukishima.

“This is what I get for being kind?” Tsukishima scowled. “Just take it to lift yourself up.”

And Kageyama did, glaring back. They had no time for petty arguments, but that was just their nature. Tsukishima was in no way a fan of the team’s setter but he didn’t want him in real danger. The same went the other way.

In the distance, there was the sound of a match and when Yamaguchi looked towards where he heard it from, he was led to the kitchen with his remaining friends the whole way there. There sat a lit candle on an elegant chamberstick. He picked it up and held it by other parts of the kitchen.

“It’s strange that it’s been given to us at this time, but we can kind of see now,” Yachi sighed. Disappointment and relief radiated from her at the same time.

“Let’s stay in the living room,” Kageyama muttered. “Bring the candle.”

The transition between the living room and kitchen didn’t have a door, just an open space to walk in and out of. It was another reason they believed the living room was the safest. No door could shut and lock on them.

Well, they were only partially right.

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi entered together and right before Yachi and Kageyama could follow after, the floor at the bottom of the doorway shot up. Under the tile was concrete that they already knew they wouldn’t be able to break through.

“No,” Kageyama let out shakily. “No, no, SHIT!” He banged his fists at the concrete barrier.

Yachi grasped the sleeve of Kageyama’s hoodie. They were in the last two pairs. The amount of people they were directly instructed from the very beginning not to get separated into.

On the other side in the meeting spot, Tsukishima let his arms fall limp at his sides. “We’re f-fucked.” He laughed to cover a bitter sob, but it didn’t fool his partner.

“I know,” Yamaguchi said. He was barely audible, even to the blond standing right next to him.

Tsukishima looked around and spoke to the air. Whoever, or whatever, hid in it. “Do it already. What are you waiting for? There’s no point in torturing us while we anticipate our murders! Just fucking kill me already!”

“Tsukki!” Even though Yamaguchi agreed, he didn’t want to. He wanted to make it out alive, but death was so near that he didn’t—couldn’t resist the thoughts any longer.

They waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

“Tsukki?”

“What?”

Yamaguchi hesitated for a moment, but held Tsukishima’s sweaty, trembling hands. “Daichi didn’t tell Sugawara about how he felt. I can’t make the same mistake.”

“...What?” His brain malfunctioned. As soon as he processed it though, he said, “I thought the same thing.”

“I like you. So much.”

He cupped Tsukishima’s face like it was his prized possession.

“I- Me too,” Tsukishima murmured. “I like you too. Why didn’t we do this earlier? God fucking hates me so much that he gave me you and didn’t even let me date you and kiss you and spend every second of the day with you.”

His rambling didn’t seem to end, raising his voice with every passionate word.

That was, until they were raised into the air to flail around helplessly. With that, they shared the same thought. They would die together right after confessing their feelings.

How sweet.

If they were surprised that they were the next victims, they would’ve had a bigger reaction to being lifted against their will. Echoing female laughter that they connected the dots to be the mother rang in their ears. When they looked around, they didn’t see anyone there. It wasn’t from one direction, it hit them from everywhere.

“Tsu-“

Whatever Yamaguchi was about to say was cut off by his entire body tensing up and a feeble wail.

“Yamaguchi?”

Bright red blood splattered onto the floor under Yamaguchi’s feet. He began to hyperventilate, mind foggy with the sharp pain shooting through his entire body. “Tsukki! Please h-help me.”

Tsukishima had never felt so useless.

Yamaguchi was released by whatever force held him up. He fell to his hands and knees and from that perspective, Tsukishima saw the butcher knife deep in his back. He shouted his name until it was a broken word on his tongue. He was released soon after and, on all fours, he rushed over and held Yamaguchi.

“You’re okay! You’re okay. You’re okay,” he lied. Nothing could stop Yamaguchi’s bleeding and removing the butcher knife would only make him lose blood quicker.

He knew they would die the entire time. He especially knew when the concrete wall came up to split the last four into pairs. But the most cruel thing the house did to him was force him to watch Yamaguchi die first. It waited for them to confess. After that, it was free reign.

“I love you,” Yamaguchi breathed. It would have sounded like gibberish if their faces weren’t right by each other.

Those were words Tsukishima couldn’t say back, no matter the person, and no matter how much he felt it.

But that was no time to be a coward.

“I love you too.”

Yamaguchi’s arms weakened and fell next to him where his fingers drowned in his own blood. His face inched closer to the best of his ability while he gradually paled. Tsukishima was running out of time, and he knew what Yamaguchi asked for in silence.

He kissed him until he couldn’t breathe.

“Sorry for not telling you earlier, Tsukki.”

Yamaguchi went limp in every muscle after he forced himself to close his strained eyes.

“Don’t be sorry right now,” Tsukishima said.

When Yamaguchi didn’t answer, his head twitched. He dropped his best friend onto the floor. His stomach churned and he backed up a few steps from the dead body so his tears wouldn’t fall on Yamaguchi’s face.

He said a final sentence. His greatest wish in that moment when he had nothing left.

“Kill me right now.”

As he requested, a second knife from a direction he couldn’t catch in time stabbed him through the heart. Blood spurted from his chest until he doubled over and finally, finally lost.

The candle Yamaguchi left on the edge of the table was pushed by a force invisible to humans, falling to the floor. As soon as the fire went from a tiny flame to a circle spreading out in height and width, a familiar giggle disintegrated into the air.

The concrete barrier crumbled and Yachi and Kageyama were hit with sudden painful brightness. With the new light, Yachi picked up a visible note taped to a windowsill.

_One chance for one person,  
Who will make it out?_

Kageyama read over her shoulder and immediately turned the lock on the window and lifted it. Both gasped at the crack of fresh air that was let in. The October breeze cooled them, but not for long. The fire from the living room spread quickly, and beyond it were the lifeless bodies of the ones they left behind.

“Yachi, get out. Now,” Kageyama ordered.

“No!” she argued. “I’m not letting you burn to death here!”

He forced her up onto the counter, then checked behind him. The flames erupted suddenly and filled all the way to the corners of the living room. The clock was ticking in the forms of crackling noises getting closer at a merciless pace.

“We’re running out of time, so fucking go!”

With one last shove, the only window of the kitchen was open to its full capability with Yachi in the position to leave at any second. But she felt so selfish. So cruel, leaving the wrecked boy in front of her to drown in the fire. Throughout the entire night, she prayed she would leave with her friends by her side until she actually believed it.

She hugged him. Nobody could have guessed Kageyama was such a good hugger, but they were both swarmed with distress so they clung to each other. The last two alive would soon turn to one. Kageyama didn’t need to turn around to just feel how increasingly hot the room was getting against his back when they pulled away from their hug.

The window wasn’t built for someone to get in or out through. It was much too small for Kageyama, but it did accommodate to one of them.

“You’re the only one who can fit.”

Yachi knew that. Of course she knew that, but she couldn’t just-

_“NOW!”_

Blinding orange and yellow reflected on her honey colored eyes right before Kageyama grabbed her and pushed her out the window himself. Thankfully she tumbled onto the grassy lawn instead of any rocks.

“Kageyama!” she called as loud as her lung capacity would allow. “Just try, maybe you can fit after all!”

He just shook his head. He mouthed, “I’ll miss you,” and stepped backwards to become the last victim, engulfed in the brutal house fire.

Sugawara didn’t have to die for him. Neither did Hinata. They may have made it out alive if they weren’t so selfless. That was something Kageyama was sure he couldn’t live with for the rest of his life. That he was behind why one sacrificed himself directly and the other joined in.

With the entire volleyball team was dead, he had nothing left to show for himself. And everyone who helped him mature and raised him to his full potential was gone.

Yachi was the one who held onto her hope the whole way through. The window was made for her. Perhaps Yamaguchi was on the right track with his theory. But he would never find out.

As Hinata said, they couldn’t be one without the other.

Having run to the other side of the street to the opposite sidewalk, Yachi cried so hard her head hurt. She was alive just like she wanted, but at what cost?

The house read their minds. Each was, at some point, willing to die in some form. Out of exhaustion or for the sake of someone else. Yachi was rewarded for her differing thought process, but she hated herself for it. She was the lone survivor because she was selfish.

Or maybe, being the lone survivor was her punishment.

Her current goal was to first go home. They’d left their bikes on a rack, each locking their own. However, when she headed towards them, she only saw hers. The smallest of the bikes in white and baby blue with a basket at the front next to the bell.

Her head took a reluctant course to the house after she hopped onto her bike and buckled her helmet. She expected the building to be burning down and crashing until it was left as ashes blown into the atmosphere with the wind.

Instead, it looked exactly how it did when they first arrived. No smell of smoke, no burning and destruction.

She had no time to question too much but it stuck while she pedaled away, getting faster on her path to the school and all the way home. Her mother was on her phone in bed. She noticed her daughter at the door.

“Hitoka?” She stood from the bed and brushed Yachi’s hair back.

Yachi surged forward into her mother’s embrace and bawled into her shirt. When she was asked what happened, she couldn’t answer. Her mother would never understand even if she tried. No amount of love for her daughter could let her story sound real.

“Lord, that smell,” her mother murmured. She kissed her forehead. “Shower tomorrow morning. Sleep here tonight. Whatever’s going on, tell me when you’re ready.”

She guided Yachi to bed and laid down with her in a protective position over her baby. Long brown hair loose from the usual low ponytail draped over them like a blanket under the real thick blanket. She went to turn off the light but Yachi stopped her.

“I never knew you needed light to sleep.”

Yachi only nodded.

“Have a nice dream tonight to wake up well. Good night, Hitoka.”

~

Crazy girl Yachi Hitoka with her imaginary friends from the school volleyball team that didn’t even exist after gaining their reputation as the “clipped crows”.

Nobody knew a famous freak duo or a tall blond with glasses who went everywhere with his green haired best friend. They rolled their eyes when Yachi brought up a gorgeous black haired girl who always won everyone’s attention, yet nobody had even heard her name. The names Tanaka, Nishinoya, and Asahi didn’t ring a bell. Daichi and Sugawara’s popularity were non-existent.

“Kinoshita!” she called to the brunette down the hall.

The second pinch server only blinked a couple times. “I’m sorry. Do- Do I know you?” Walking beside him were Narita and Ennoshita with a similar expression.

_Oh._

The people surrounding her in the halls whispered among themselves.

That poor, crazy girl Yachi Hitoka was at it again. Many pitied her and reached out with kindness, but those who weren’t so kind turned her into a school joke. Her time was wasted on students who the teachers didn’t even have. Even her therapist didn’t quite believe her. When the news spread to her mother, she was lectured at home. Just as she predicted.

Nobody could understand the goosebumps creeping up her back whenever she was alone and why she couldn’t sleep in her own bedroom anymore. When she saw a spider, she would run out of the room, even if it was during class. If she looked to Hinata or Daichi for protection, they were nowhere to be found. School fire drills, tall men on the street smoking cigarettes—it was too much.

She twisted a black feather between her frail fingers—a sharp contrast to her blonde hair which went from everything a girl could want to greasy strings and untrimmed split ends. Being in the shower was too vulnerable. She had only showered twice since Halloween, and it was the middle of November. The rest of her time at home was spent in her mother’s bed. Her muscles begged her to do something else but her mind dragged her back down every time.

She got what she wanted but she was still so ungrateful.

Her homework went unattended and her name on the ranked list of scores after each test went from the very top of her class to dropping to the very bottom. Back then, her name and score would be right next to two names: Tsukishima Kei and Yamaguchi Tadashi. There were two blank spaces on the board and nobody even questioned.

Kiyoko would be so disappointed.

The team was probably up there watching her every move. Sugawara wondering what he even sacrificed himself for, Nishinoya and Tanaka overwhelmed with guilt that they started the whole thing. Every step Yachi took with her barely combed hair hanging in front of her face hurt her more. She had nowhere to walk to. School, home, school, home, on an endless loop.

She could only cry when she concluded the life she was granted that she wanted so badly meant nothing to her anymore. The black feather fell from her grasp and floated to the floor by the edge of the roof.

The sun was just about to rise for the beginning of a new day she would never get to see.

If a crow could fly even with its clipped wings, Yachi Hitoka would have survived.


End file.
